KRA said it will undertake the necessary system processes to ensure taxpayers are not penalised for failures arising from the disruptions.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) will waive penalties and interest accrued by taxpayers as a result of intermittent downtime of its iTax portal this September.
The authority said the waiver will cover penalties and interest attributable to verified periods when affected iTax services were unavailable or intermittently inaccessible.
KRA said it will undertake the necessary system processes to ensure taxpayers are not penalised for failures arising from the disruptions.
"We wish to inform taxpayers that, following the recent intermittent downtime of the iTax portal, we will waive penalties and interest arising from the system downtime during September 2026. The waiver will apply to penalties and interest attributable to the verified period of downtime, in accordance with Section 89(5A) of the Tax Procedures Act," the Commissioner General said in a notice.
The decision follows several system interruptions this month that affected access to KRA's digital services, including return filing and payment services.
On Monday, September 7, KRA conducted scheduled maintenance on the iTax portal from 9:30pm to 10:30pm, during which the system was unavailable to all users.
"During this one-hour maintenance period, iTax will be unavailable to all users," KRA said at the time, adding that the maintenance was intended to enhance the reliability of its services.
The authority conducted another scheduled maintenance on Sunday, September 13, involving the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) from 6am to 6pm.
Although the maintenance was on iCMS, the system is integrated with iTax and supports automated export-data prefilling on VAT returns.
iCMS is KRA's digital platform for managing import, export, transit and transshipment cargo clearance processes.
One of its functions is to connect with internal and external systems, including iTax, to facilitate the processing of tax information.
The latest disruption occurred on Wednesday, September 16, when KRA reported intermittent interruptions affecting the iTax system.
"We are currently experiencing intermittent disruptions affecting the iTax system," the authority said, adding that its technical teams were working to restore normal services.
KRA announced the waiver in a public notice issued on Wednesday, September 16, saying it was acting under Section 89(5A) of the Tax Procedures Act.
The authority said the waiver would take into account the period during which the affected services were unavailable or intermittently inaccessible.
"KRA remains committed to facilitating compliance by providing reliable solutions," the authority said, while apologising for the inconvenience caused and thanking taxpayers for their patience and cooperation.
The September waiver is separate from the annual tax amnesty running from July 1 to December 31, 2026.
Under the annual amnesty, interest, penalties and fines on tax liabilities due up to December 31, 2025 can be waived subject to specified conditions.
Taxpayers seeking the amnesty are required to pay outstanding principal tax as at December 31, 2025 and file all outstanding returns.
Those with no outstanding principal tax qualify automatically and do not need to apply for the amnesty.
The September waiver, however, specifically relates to penalties and interest arising from the verified iTax system downtime and does not require taxpayers to treat it as part of the separate annual amnesty programme.
KRA said taxpayers requiring clarification or assistance can contact its Contact Centre through 020 4 999 999 or 0711 099 999, or email [email protected].
